Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery, born 21 May 1957) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. She has been involved in parliamentary attempts to change laws to reduce pregnancy time for abortions.

Born in Liverpool, England, Dorries initially worked as a nurse eventually becoming a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd. During her earlier career she spent a year in Zambia as the head of a community school. Having returned home a year later, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998.

She stood as the Conservative Party candidate for the constituency of Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester in the 2001 general election, but did not unseat the Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell.

Dorries was finally elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid-Bedfordshire, with a majority of 11,355. Since taking her seat, Dorries has introduced several unsuccessful Private Member's Bills in the House of Commons including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortion in Great Britain, to change the rules regarding the counselling of the women involved and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. She is also an opponent of the current Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, and has attempted to have him removed from the post, and has criticised and clashed with her party leader, the Prime Minister David Cameron.

Dorries has been described as a right-wing conservative whose high profile in the media has led to her being called "Mad Nad".^[2] In 2008 Dorries won the The Spectator magazine's Reader's Representative Award.

Early life[link]

Dorries was born Nadine Bargery in Liverpool, England, the daughter of a bus driver who died aged 42.^[1] She was raised in Anfield, Liverpool, and educated at Rose Heath Primary School,^[3] and Halewood Grange Comprehensive School (while Alan Bleasdale taught there)^[4][5] before her family moved to Runcorn.^[3] Dorries grew up on a council estate, and her parents took advantage of the "Right to Buy" scheme.^[6][7] She left the Merseyside area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries.

Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool Football Club.^[8] She has said that her great-grandfather, George Bargery, was one of the founders of Everton Football Club,^[1] and either the club's first goalkeeper,^[3] or that he played in goal for the club in its first Football League game, a home game against Accrington.^[9] However, his name does not appear on the teamsheets for the club's first game as Everton FC^[10] or its first league game.^[11]

Dorries entered nursing in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital.^[12] From 1978 to 1981, she practised as a nurse in both Warrington and Liverpool according to a 2009 report,^[13] but in Liverpool and London according to her CV when she was a candidate in 2001.^[12]

In 1982, she became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia (1983–84)^[12] as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine.^[1]

In 1987 Dorries founded Company Kids Ltd providing child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA, at which she served as a director of the health provider for a year.^[12]

As Nadine Bargery, reportedly taking ten years off her age,^[14] she was selected as the PPC for Hazel Grove in Spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August^[14] before being centrally imposed. Contesting the seat at the 2001 general election, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell, who retained the seat by 8,435 votes.^[15] Dorries worked for three years^[16] as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, then Shadow Chancellor, including managing his relations with the media.^[5]

Selection and all-women shortlists[link]

In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection:

"Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place."^[17]

Dorries's account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that party headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate:

"Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point."^[18]

In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change.^[19] In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided"^[17]

Parliament of 2005-2010[link]

Entering parliament[link]

Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the safe seat of Mid-Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech on 25 May 2005.^[20] She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems.^[21]

Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative",^[22] is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group.^[23] A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use."^[9]

Dorries initially supported the attempt of David Davis to become Conservative leader in 2005.^[24] but later withdrew her endorsement.^[25] David Cameron, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of."^[26] In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools.^[27] However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed.^[28]

Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee. In the year to November 2008, she attended only 2% of sessions.^[29] The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session.^[30] In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee.^[31]

Abortion time limits[link]

Dorries has said she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions,^[1][32] an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed.^[7]

On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period.^[33][34] Dorries alleged she had received death threats from pro-choice activists and was given police protection.^[34] Parliament voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill.^[35]

In May 2008, she tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams^[36] then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship,^[37] Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries.^[38]

Dorries' amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22 week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233 - with MPs continuing to support the 24 week limit.^[39] She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: “If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles … My view is that the only way forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit … it’s every baby’s right to have a life.”^[9]

Damian McBride email affair[link]

In April 2009, Dorries claimed to have commenced legal action following the publication of emails sent by Damian McBride, Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper, a Labour-supporting blogger.^[13][40][41] The email was leaked and McBride resigned. Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous, "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue",^[42] and demanded an apology^[13] intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit".^[43]

Brown subsequently said he was 'sorry' and that he took 'full responsibility for what happened'.^[44] Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but failed to carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs.^[45]

Expenses claims[link]

In May 2009 the Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries's constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 Additional Costs Allowance (for 'secondary' housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards.^[46] The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May she went on BBC Radio 4 to draw parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunts' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism.^[47] She claimed everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other.^[48] Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider.^[49]

In January 2010, it emerged that Dorries was being investigated by John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses^[50] There was some debate as to the location of her main home.^[51] The outcome of the parliamentary investigation is discussed in the "blog fiction" section below. It was also revealed that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company.^[50][52]

High heels at work[link]

In late 2009 Nadine Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office"^[53] which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union Congress (TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high-heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health-impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes.^[54]

Criticism of Speaker Bercow[link]

Dorries is one of the most outspoken opponents of the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow. Prior to his election in June 2009, she accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party and questioned his mental stability.^[55] She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party".^[56] After Bercow's wife, Sally, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker.^[57]

Benefit claimants[link]

In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants.^[58] Two single mothers with whom Dorries stayed accused Dorries of hiding £50 in her bra^[59] and offering them temazepam tablets.^[60] Dorries rejected these claims.

In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work because of ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name.^[61]

Parliament beginning in 2010[link]

Attempt to remove Bercow and expenses redux[link]

She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election,^[62] and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal.^[63] Writing in the Daily Mail, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality".^[64]

On May 9, 2010, two days after regaining the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in the general election, The Sunday Times revealed that Dorries was facing the first expenses claims complaint of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it.^[65] Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.^[66] She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on September 13, 2008.^[67]

On January 13, 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries concerning her expenses.^[68] Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration.^[69]

Blog fiction[link]

A complaint from the Liberal Conspiracy website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog, had been upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority."^[70]

On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries admitted "My blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact. It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another."^[71] Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire^[72] she said "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect."^[71] Another example given was that Dorries falsely claimed in her blog that her daughter was going to school in the constituency.

She gave an explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she revealed that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised, on police advice, because of unwanted attention. She also claims that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family.^[73]

On 27 October 2010 Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised."^[74] Following this incident she made a complaint of harassment by an online blogger to the police.^[75]

The conservative journalist Peter Oborne suggested, in his Telegraph blog a fortnight later, that Cameron should have "ordered Miss Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then."^[76]

Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education[link]

On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13 to 16 which was presented as teaching them "how to say no".^[77] While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would require active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement of the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity".^[78]

The bill drew criticism from health care and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the bill's reading,^[79] and the bill was opposed in the House by Labour MP Chris Bryant who described it as "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen".^[80] Dorries accused her opponents of behaving as though she was advocating "the compulsory wearing of chastity belts for all teenage girls".^[81]

On 16 May 2011, Dorries appeared to suggest that a lack of awareness around abstinence among young girls is linked to rates of child sexual abuse. Dorries stated: ‘If a stronger ‘just say no’ message was given to children in school, there might be an impact on sex abuse, because a lot of girls, when sex abuse takes place don’t realise until later that was a wrong thing to do... I don’t think people realise that if we did empower this message into girls, imbued this message in school, we would probably have less sex abuse’^[82]

The sexual abstinence bill was set for second reading on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185).^[83] after she was granted leave to introduce the bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011.^[84] The bill, placed eighth on the order paper, was withrawn shortly before its second reading, possibly by Dorries herself, and its future is unclear.^[85]

Abortion counselling[link]

Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions,^[86] but "independent" counselling services could be anti-abortion faith groups.^[87] David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind,^[88] reportedly because Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was opposed to the change.^[89] Her criticism of Cameron's change of mind was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone^[90] who shares Dorries concerns.^[91] Clegg's apparent opposition was for Dorries a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister",^[92] and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions on 7 September.^[93] Cameron was criticised by feminists^[94] and others for the comment, but subsequently apologised.^[95]

The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after health minister Anne Milton intervened to suggest the government would support the "spirit" of Dorries amendment.^[96] The amendment was lost when put by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250.^[97] Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments.^[96]

Visit to Equatorial Guinea with nine other MPs[link]

In August 2011 Nadine Dorries led the first delegation of British members of Parliament to Equatorial Guinea.^[98] Equatorial Guinea is a small African country, but the third biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by the President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent.^[99] Although she met the Prime minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang, she didn't mention this high-level meeting in her blog. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made."^[98] According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine British MPs on the trip.^[100]

Criticism of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne[link]

On March 6, 2012, Dorries attacked the leadership of the Coalition over their taxation policies. Referring to the proposed cuts in child benefit, she told the Financial Times "The problem is that policy is being run by two public schoolboys who don't know what it's like to go to the supermarket and have to put things back on the shelves because they can't afford it for their children's lunchboxes. What's worse, they don't care, either".^[101] She again criticised Cameron, and also George Osborne, in similar terms on 23 April, calling them "two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk - who show no remorse, no contrition and no passion to want to understand the lives of others".^[102][103] Following Dorries' claim, in a "Mail on Sunday" article, that Cameron could be replaced within a year,^[104] George Osborne said on The Andrew Marr Show on 6 May: "Nadine Dorries, for the last seven years, I don't think has agreed with anything either myself, David Cameron, or indeed most Conservatives in the leadership of the party have done,"^[105]

Personal life[link]

After she claimed her 53-year-old husband Paul Dorries had given her an ultimatum, she separated from him at Christmas 2006 saying that she and her husband, who has multiple sclerosis, were at 'entirely different stages in our life'. They have three daughters.^[106] They are now divorced.^[1]

In January 2011, Dorries stated that, since December 2010, she had been in a relationship with John Butler, a married man who had been a family friend for 13 years previously and who, she claimed, had separated from his wife shortly before.^[107] According to the Mail on Sunday, the couple split up in summer 2011.^[108]

Dorries maintains a high profile in the media, where she has been derided as 'Mad Nad',^[2] while a defender, journalist Quentin Letts, has accused other MPs of feeling "envy" for her flamboyance and publicity skills.^[109]

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (September 2011)

• The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site
• "The Columnists: Nadine Dorries", ConservativeHome
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives
• Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC News, 28 November 2005

Audio

• Discussing abortion on Radio 4's Woman's Hour in October 2006
• Talking to Mark Darcy of Radio 4's Westminster Hour about abortion in 2006

Articles

• Attempting to lower abortion time limit in 2006
• Telegraph article: The World according to Nadine Dorries - November 2007
• Telegraph article - Bridget Jones MP - November 2007
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/22/mps-expenses-conservatives
• Guardian article on Dorries' abstinence for girls sex education bill
• Daily Mail Article on Daniel Ward

Video

• Nadine Dorries 10 minute rule motion promoting abstinence to teenage girls.

Edwina Currie
Currie in 2009
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health
In office 18 September 1986 – 20 December 1988
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire
In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Mark Todd
Personal details
Born	(1946-10-13) 13 October 1946 (age 65) Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Ray Currie (div. 1997) John Jones (m. 2001)
Children	2
Residence	Chinley, Derbyshire
Religion	Judaism

Edwina Jones (born 13 October 1946), born Edwina Cohen and commonly known by her first married name, Edwina Currie, is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs. By the time Currie lost her seat in 1997, she had begun a new career as a novelist and broadcaster.

Early life[link]

Currie was born in South Liverpool, England to an Orthodox Jewish family and has identified herself as Jewish, although she has stated: "I find religious mumbo jumbo hard to swallow in any faith."^[1] A pupil at Liverpool Institute High School for Girls, Liverpool's Historic Canning area, she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Anne's College, Oxford University where she was taught by Gabriele Taylor; subsequently, she gained a MA in economic history from the London School of Economics.

Member of Parliament[link]

From 1975 until 1986, she was a Birmingham City Councillor for Northfield. In 1983, she stood for parliament as a Conservative Party candidate, and was elected as the member for South Derbyshire. Frequently outspoken, she was described as "a virtually permanent fixture on the nation's TV screen saying something outrageous about just about anything" and "the most outspoken and sexually interested woman of her political generation."^[2]

In September 1986, she became a Junior Health Minister. Among her comments over the next two years were - despite not being religious - that "good Christian people" don't get AIDS,^[3] that old people who couldn't afford their heating bills should wrap up warm in winter, and that northerners die of "ignorance and chips".^[4]

Currie was forced to resign in December 1988 after she issued a warning about salmonella in British eggs. The statement that "most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella"^[5] sparked outrage among farmers and egg producers, and caused egg sales in the country to rapidly decline.^[6] Although the statement was widely interpreted as referring to "most eggs produced", in fact it related to the egg production flock; there was indeed evidence that a mid-1980s regulation change had allowed salmonella to get a hold in flocks.^[7] There was particular anger in Northern Ireland where egg production is a significant part of the economy. At the Christmas party of the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland that year the featured dish was curried eggs. To make amends, in 1990, she began the National Egg Awareness Campaign. The controversy gained her the nickname 'Eggwina'. Long after the furore died down, in 2001, it was revealed that a covered up Whitehall report produced months after Currie's resignation found that there had been a "salmonella epidemic of considerable proportions".^[8]

In 1991, she was the first Conservative MP to appear on the BBC topical panel show Have I Got News For You. Currie appeared again two years later, in a special episode commemorating the release of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs, opposite fellow Liverpudlian (and Liverpool Institute alumnus) Derek Hatton.

During the 1992 General Election campaign, Currie poured a glass of orange juice over Labour's Peter Snape shortly after an edition of the Midlands based television debate show Central Weekend had finished airing.^[9] Speaking about the incident later, Currie said "I just looked at my orange juice, and looked at this man from which this stream of abuse was emanating, and thought 'I know how to shut you up.' "^[9] Snape subsequently won £15,000 after Currie "falsely suggested in her memoirs that it happened after Snape had been 'drinking vodka in a club with cronies'."^[10]

After the 1992 General Election, she declined a request from prime minister John Major to take up a position as Minister of State for the Home Office.^[11]

In February 1994, she tabled an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to lower the age of consent for male homosexual sexual acts to 16. This amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280, although a subsequent amendment resulted in the reduction of the homosexual age of consent from 21 to 18; final equalisation was achieved in 2000. Currie voted in favour of the Death penalty for murder in 1983, but against it in 1994.

In June 1994, she contested the European Parliament seat of Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes, but lost the seat to Labour's Eryl McNally by 94,837 votes to 61,628 votes.

Currie lost her parliamentary seat in the 1997 General Election. For five years (1998–2003), she hosted a late-evening talk show on BBC Radio Five Live, Late Night Currie.

In October 2011, Currie took part in EurVoice, an event supported by the European Youth Parliament United Kingdom.^[12]

Other works[link]

Author[link]

Currie is the author of six novels: A Parliamentary Affair (1994), A Woman's Place (1996) She's Leaving Home (1997), The Ambassador (1999), Chasing Men (2000) and This Honourable House (2001). She has also written four works of non-fiction: Life Lines (1989), What Women Want (1990), Three Line Quips (1992) and Diaries 1987–92 (2002). She remains an outspoken public figure, with a reputation for being "highly opinionated",^[6] and currently earns her living as an author and media personality.

Media[link]

From the time she lost her seat in 1997, Currie has maintained a presence in the media. For five years an eponymous phone-in programme ran on BBC Radio Five Live, Late Night Currie.^[13] In 2002 she moved to HTV, presenting the television programme Currie Night until 2003. Since then, she has appeared in a string of reality television programmes, such as Wife Swap in which she and her second husband John swapped places with John McCririck and his wife, Jenny. She has also appeared in the reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, both in 2006.^[14] Currie was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory!. She won Celebrity Mastermind on 23 June 2004, specialising in the life of Marie Curie. She also won All Star Family Fortunes on 3 January 2009. She appeared in Channel 4's Come Dine With Me in February 2009 where she finished third. She made a second appearance on the show during Channel 4's "Alternative Election Night" coverage, with Rod Liddle, Brian Paddick and Derek Hatton as her competitors. She also appeared in James May's Show James May's Toy Stories where she helped him build a bridge made entirely out of Meccano in Liverpool.

[edit] Strictly Come Dancing

On 6 September 2011 it was announced that Currie would take part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing.^[15] On 10 September 2011 it was announced she would be dancing with Vincent Simone. She was the first dancer to be eliminated from the competition on 9 October 2011.

Personal life[link]

In 1972, Edwina Cohen married accountant Ray Currie in Barnstaple; they had two children and divorced in 1997. During this marriage Edwina Currie had the four-year affair with John Major, later Prime Minister, which she revealed in 2002. On 24 May 2001, in Southwark, she married retired detective John Jones whom she had met when he was a guest on her radio programme in 1999.^[16] Currie currently lives in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire.^{[citation needed]}

Affair with John Major[link]

Currie's Diaries (1987–92), published in 2002, caused a sensation, as they revealed a four-year affair with John Major between 1984 and 1988 while both were married to other people. The affair started while she was a backbencher and Major was the government whip in Margaret Thatcher's government. After Major's promotion to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the relationship ended, but the two remained friends. Currie apparently ceased the affair when it became dangerous and impractical owing to the presence of bodyguards who had to be avoided.^[11]

After publication, John Major made a statement saying that he was ashamed of the affair and had privately revealed the matter to his wife. Currie admitted to having been in love with him for years after the end of the affair,^[17] and that he had been "the love of her life".^[18] However, only weeks after revealing the affair, she publicly criticised Major, accusing him of sexism and racism and of being "one of the less competent prime ministers".^[19]

The admission came after years of denial of any affair while in office and a successful libel action against playwright David Hare, who had said a sexually voracious murderer played by Charlotte Rampling in his film Paris by Night (1988) was an "Edwina Currie-like" figure. Currie had also produced several novels with explicitly erotic content - and political background - such as A Parliamentary Affair.^[6] Following publication of her diaries, Express Newspapers lawyers re-examined documents in a libel case to see if there was anything in the diaries which would allow them to reopen the case and recoup damages.^[20] In March 2000, Currie had been awarded £30,000 against them following a 1997 article entitled "How Edwina is now the vilest lady in Britain".^[20][21]

In October 1985, Currie had spoken harshly of Sara Keays, who had had an affair with Cecil Parkinson, calling her a "right cow"^[22] for writing about the affair and her consequent pregnancy and, she claimed, ruining Parkinson's career. She had gone on to say, "I feel very, very sorry for Cecil and his family. Most of my thoughts on Sara Keays are unprintable."^[23] In 1993, one of the key campaign slogans of John Major's time as Prime Minister, 'Back to Basics', had been widely seen as a call for a return to traditional values in sexual morality as well as in education, law and order.

Charity[link]

In 2004 she took part in a sponsored cycle ride across Poland, near to the area where ancestors of hers lived, for Marie Curie Cancer Care.^[24]

In 2005 in her role as a patron of the British Heart Foundation she championed a campaign to raise awareness of the effect of heart disease on women.^[25]

In May 2007 the patient charity MRSA Action UK announced Currie as their patron.^[26] Edwina Currie was quoted by the media championing the campaign against hospital superbugs.^[27]

In November 2011 she accepted the position of President of the Tideswell Male voice Choir.^[28]

Discography[link]

As part of the 2009 TV Show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Currie teamed up with Declan Donnelly and two other celebrities to release a cover version of the Wham hit song, "Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)". Her daughter, Debbie, had previously released a single.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Edwina Currie
• Extracts from her diaries
• Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics: biography
• Major and Currie had four-year affair, BBC News Online, 28 September 2002
• Edwina Currie at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2009)

Christine Hamilton
Born	Mary Christine Holman (1949-11-10) 10 November 1949 (age 62) Bournemouth, England[1]
Occupation	Media personality, broadcaster, public speaker
Spouse	Neil Hamilton

Christine Hamilton (born Mary Christine Holman, 10 November 1949) is an English television personality and author, and the wife of former British Member of Parliament Neil Hamilton who was Minister for Corporate Affairs between 1992-1994.

She is most famous for her defence of the allegations of corruption and 'cash for questions' made against her husband whilst he was an MP. The failure of their attempt to sue Mohamed Al-Fayed led to the former MP going bankrupt.

After many years working as secretary to various MPs, first Wilfred Proudfoot, then Gerald Nabarro and latterly her husband – she came to wider public attention when she confronted her husband's opponent Martin Bell on Knutsford Heath during the 1997 general election campaign. After the election, Christine and Neil Hamilton appeared together on Have I Got News For You, an appearance that established her as a chat-show personality and she subsequently appeared on myriad programmes including her own 'Christine Hamilton Show' on BBC Choice where she interviewed celebrities who had 'been through stormy waters' of some kind, ranging from Jonathan Aitken to James Hewitt, from Bernard Manning to Ivana Trump, and from Paul Merson to John Fashanu. She appeared in the first reality television programme, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2002, coming third. In 1999, she was on the front-page of The Sun when she was snapped kissing young Conservative Will Goodhand at an Oxford University Conservative Association dinner.

Along with her husband, Christine Hamilton was arrested in May 2001 by police investigating an alleged rape that was quickly found to be entirely false. Hamilton described the experience as ".. ghastly and humiliating" and said, "The whole thing is just nonsense on stilts."^[2] Their accuser was later imprisoned for attempting to pervert the course of justice. The police made a full apology.

She has published The Book of British Battleaxes, and she changed her name by deed poll to British Battleaxe on 9 February 2009, as promotion for The Legal Deed Poll Service, an online deed poll provider.^[3] She writes many articles for various newspapers and magazines.

Christine was the first woman to take the role of 'Narrator' in the Rocky Horror Show during its 30th Anniversary tour, appeared in pantomime at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford as "Bossy Fair Battleaxe" in Jack & the Beanstalk, toured her One-Woman Show 'Share an Evening with Christine Hamilton', and appeared several times in The Vagina Monologues, including in the West End at Wyndhams Theatre. In 2005 Hamilton became the first 'Face of British Sausage Week', touring the UK in a quest to promote the ever popular British banger. Christine Hamilton and her husband have also had a very popular show at the Edinburgh Festival in recent years. In summer 2010, she appeared in Celebrity Masterchef, reaching the final alongside Dick Strawbridge and eventual winner Lisa Faulkner.^[4]

She is renowned for her conference and after-dinner speeches which she gives to audiences ranging from all-male business groups to the Ladies Who Lunch. Her autobiography For Better For Worse was published in 2005.^[5] In April 1997 Daily Mail columnist Lynda Lee Potter said of her:

"Christine has the courage of the early Christian martyrs. With more women like her Britain would never have lost the Empire."

She tweets as @brit_battleaxe.

TV

• GMTV (2001-2005) ...... Herself - Discussion Contributor
• Countdown (2003) ...... Herself - Dictionary Corner Assistant
• Loose Women (2004, 2011) ..... Herself - Guest Panellist
• This Week (2005-)..... Herself - Discussion Contributor/Reporter
• The Alan Titchmarsh Show (2007-2011)..... Herself - Discussion Contributor
• This Morning (2009—)..... Herself - Occasional Newspaper Reviewer
• The Wright Stuff (2012-) ..... Herself - Panellist

References[link]

External links[link]

• Christine Hamilton's website

Iain Dale
Iain Dale
Born	Iain Campbell Dale (1962-07-15) 15 July 1962 (age 49)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of East Anglia
Occupation	Author, journalist
Years active	1998 – present
Known for	Political blogger
Home town	Saffron Walden
Political party	Conservative
Partner	John Simmons
Website
www.iaindale.blogspot.com

Iain Campbell Dale (born 15 July 1962) is best known for his conservative-minded British political blog Iain Dale's Diary (founded in 2002) and for his frequent appearances on UK news channels as a political commentator. He is also a publisher, broadcaster and former Conservative Party politician. In September 2003 he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to contest a Parliamentary election.^[1] He is the publisher of Total Politics magazine and Managing Director of Biteback Publishing. Since September 2010, he has hosted a regular evening show on London's LBC 97.3 radio station.

Education and career[link]

Dale was educated at Ashdon County Primary School, Saffron Walden County High School, and obtained a 2(i) BA Honours degree in German, Linguistics, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the University of East Anglia in 1985.^[2] Prior to going to university he spent his gap year as a nursing assistant at the Werner Wicker Klinik in West Germany. During his degree course he spent a year teaching English at the Gymnasium Besigheim.

He was Research Assistant to the Conservative MP Patrick Thompson, 1985–87, Public Affairs Manager for the British Ports Federation 1987–89, Financial Journalist with Lloyd's List 1989–90, and then Deputy Managing Director of The Waterfront Partnership & Managing Director of The Waterfront Conference Company 1990–96.

In 1997, he opened Politico's Bookstore and Coffee House in Westminster, selling a mix of political books, memorabilia and novelty items. The shop spawned sister publishing and web design businesses using the Politico's brand. He founded Politico's Publishing in 1998, and sold it in 2003 to Methuen Publishing. In 2004, Dale announced the closure of the walk-in book shop and relocated the business to Kent as a mail-order operation. Later that year the Westminster premises re-opened as the Westminster Bookshop under the ownership of Methuen. In 2006, Dale sold the Politico's Bookstore business to Harriman House.

Media work[link]

Dale's blog, entitled Iain Dale's Diary, had been one of the most widely-read political blogs in the UK. It was nominated by The Guardian for the Political Blog of the Year Award in 2005.^[3] On December 14, 2010, Dale announced that he was quitting both blogging at Iain Dale's Diary and party politics.^[4] As of Jan 2011 the blog url still operates and contains regular updates on Dale's LBC Radio shows. As of July 2011, Iain Dale has started a collaborative blog site, Dale & Co, with many contributors from the political spectrum, including himself. He continues to author a blog entitled West Ham Till I Die where he writes on West Ham United.^[5]

Dale's fortnightly comment column for The Daily Telegraph, which he began writing in February 2007, was discontinued in January 2009. He has also written for The Guardian, The Independent, GQ Magazine, The Spectator and the New Statesman and has made frequent appearances on TV news and political shows, including Any Questions?.

Dale is author or editor of over two dozen political books. This includes co-authoring in May 2006 a book with fellow blogger Guido Fawkes (a.k.a. Paul Staines) about alleged instances of sleaze from the Labour Party since taking office in 1997.^[6] A second edition was subsequently released in June 2007.^[7]

Dale is also the publisher of Total Politics magazine. He formerly presented Planet Politics on Oneword Radio, and occasionally appeared on Sunday Service on Radio 5 Live. He was also chief presenter on the failed internet TV station 18 Doughty Street.

Dale was used as a stand in presenter for London radio station LBC 97.3 during the first nine months of 2010 after doing a couple of test programs with other journalists. He co-presented LBC's six hour election night programme on 7 May 2010, with Gaby Hinsliff. In May and June 2010 he presented the Petrie Hosken, Clive Bull, James Max and Jeni Barnett phone in shows, and on 22 June 2010 fronted LBC's budget coverage. In late July 2010 Dale started a six week stint on LBC covering for Petrie Hosken and Andrew Pierce,^[8] which later turned into a regular show, and has been the weekly evening presenter ever since (7pm to 10pm).^[9]

Political career[link]

In May 2005, Dale stood in the general election as Conservative candidate for Norfolk North, losing to the Liberal Democrat incumbent, Norman Lamb; Lamb was elected with a 10,000 plus majority as opposed to 483 at the previous election, which he fought against David Prior. Subsequently Dale acted as chief of staff to the losing leadership candidate David Davis in the run-up to the 2005 Conservative Party leadership campaign.^[10] In August 2006, it was confirmed that he had been added to the Conservative 'Priority List' of candidates to fight the next general election.^[11] However his ambitions were further frustrated in 2007 when he applied for the Conservative candidacy for the safe seat Maidstone and The Weald, but failed to get past the first interview stage.^[12]

In October 2009 he ran for selection for the Conservative safe seat of Bracknell^[13] in order to succeed Andrew MacKay, who stepped down at the 2010 general election. Dale came third in the run off ballot behind Rory Stewart and the eventual winner Dr Philip Lee.

On 17 June 2010 Dale announced on his blog that he was resigning from the Conservative Party candidates list and would not be standing at any forthcoming parliamentary election ^[14]

Dale was known for provocative statements on Iain Dale's Diary. The rescue of the Chilean miners he has referred to as a "bore-a-thon";^[15] and he compared Greenpeace protesters with Al-Qaeda terrorists.^[16] On May 25, 2010, he announced that he had phoned the University of East London asking for comment about a protestor called "Mike" who had taken part in the "Democracy Village" protest at Parliament Square; according to Dale, who had used the whois service to establish that "Mike" was a Systems Manager at the University, "... perhaps "Mike" might like to drop by again and explain his absence from his public sector workplace. His Democracy Village website indicates that he is taking part in a peace strike. Surely he doesn't expect this to wash with his employer?..".^[17]

On 22 August 2011, Dale posted on his Twitter account a series of comments criticizing the BBC, and an unnamed individual BBC reporter, for what he perceived as unnecessarily cautious television reporting during the 2011 Battle of Tripoli.^[18] 6 minutes later he posted an apology: "OK, that tweet about the BBC reporter was unfair and in bad taste. I withdraw it." ^[18] Subsequently, he indicated that he would be "taking up the suggestion of making a donation to the Rory Peck Trust",^[18] a charitable trust and an award named after Rory Peck which supports cameramen injured in the line of duty.^[19]

Bibliography[link]

Iain Dale has edited/compiled/written more than twenty books:

• Unofficial Book of Political Lists, Robson Books, 1997
• As I Said to Denis: The Margaret Thatcher Book of Quotations, Robson Books, 1997
• The Blair Necessities, Robson Books, 1998
• Bill Clinton Joke Book, Robson Books, 1998
• Tony Blair New Labour Joke Book, Robson Books, 1998
• Dictionary of Conservative Quotations, Politico's Publishing, 1999
• Wit & Wisdom of Tony Banks, Robson Books, 1999
• Labour Party General Election Manifestos 1900–97, Routledge 1999
• Liberal Party General Election Manifestos 1900–97, Routledge, 1999
• Conservative Party General Election Manifestos 1900–1997, Routledge, 1999
• Memories of Maggie, Politico's Publishing, 2000
• Tony Blair New New Labour Joke Book (2nd ed), Robson Books, 2000
• Directory of Political Lobbying, Politico's Publishing, 2001
• Directory of Political Websites, Politico's Publishing, 2001
• Directory of Think Tank Publications, Politico's Publishing, 2001
• Memories of the Falklands, Politico's Publishing, 2002
• Prime Minister Portillo & Other Things That Never Happened, Politico's Publishing, 2003
• Times Guides to the House of Commons 1906–10, Politico's Publishing, 2003
• Times Guides to the House of Commons 1929–35, Politico's Publishing, 2003
• Directory of Political Lobbying, Politico's Publishing, 2003
• Politico's Book of the Dead, Politico's Publishing, 2003
• Margaret Thatcher: A Tribute in Words & Pictures, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005
• Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze, Politico's Media, 2006
• Big Red Book of New Labour Sleaze, Harriman House, 2007
• 500 of the Most Witty, Acerbic & Erudite Things Ever Said About Politics, Harriman House, 2007
• Guide to Political Blogging in the UK, Harriman House, 2007
• Little Book of Boris, Harriman House, 2007
• Total Politics Guide to Political Blogging 2008–9, Total Politics, 2008
• Total Politics Guide to Political Blogging 2009–10, Biteback Publishing, 2009
• Total Politics Guide to the General Election, Biteback Publishing, 2009
• Total Politics Guide to Political Blogging 2010–11, Biteback Publishing, 2010
• Margaret Thatcher: In Her Own Words, Biteback Publishing, 2010
• Talking Politics: Political Conversations With Iain Dale, Biteback Publishing, 2010
• West Ham United: When Football Was Football, Haynes Publishing, 2011
• Prime Minister Boris and Other Things That Never Happened, Biteback Publishing, 2011
• The Bigger Book of Boris, Biteback Publishing 2011
• Memories of the Falklands, Biteback Publishing (March 2012)
• Norwich City: When Football Was Football, Hayes Publishing (April 2012)

Personal life[link]

Dale entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner John Simmons on 15 June 2008 at Wadhurst Castle in East Sussex.^[20] They have been together since 1995. Dale has been openly gay since he was 40.^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dale & Co.
• Iain Dale's Diary blog
• West Ham Till I Die blog
• Iain Dale personal website
• Total Politics
• Biteback Publishing
• LBC Presenter Page

The Right Honourable Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG QC MP
Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 July 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Kim Howells
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 6 May 2005 – 6 December 2005
Leader	Michael Howard
Preceded by	James Arbuthnot
Succeeded by	Philip Hammond
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 5 July 1995 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Douglas Hurd
Succeeded by	Robin Cook
Secretary of State for Defence
In office 10 April 1992 – 5 July 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Tom King
Succeeded by	Michael Portillo
Secretary of State for Transport
In office 28 November 1990 – 10 April 1992
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Cecil Parkinson
Succeeded by	John MacGregor
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 11 January 1986 – 28 November 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	George Younger
Succeeded by	Ian Lang
Member of Parliament for Kensington Kensington and Chelsea (2005–2010)
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Michael Portillo
Majority	8,616 (24.5%)
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Pentlands
In office 28 February 1974 – 2 May 1997
Preceded by	Norman Wylie
Succeeded by	Lynda Clark
Personal details
Born	(1946-06-21) 21 June 1946 (age 66) Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Profession	Advocate
Religion	Judaism

Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG, PC, QC, MP (born 21 June 1946) is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Kensington. He served in various roles as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Scotland (1986–1990), Defence Secretary (1992–1995) and Foreign Secretary (1995–1997).

Rifkind was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh Pentlands from 1974 to 1997, when his party lost power and he lost his seat to the Labour Party. He attempted - unsuccessfully - to be re-elected in Pentlands in 2001; the constituency was abolished before the 2005 general election and he was adopted, and subsequently elected, as the Conservative candidate for Kensington and Chelsea. He announced his intention to seek the leadership of the party before the 2005 Conservative Party leadership election, but withdrew before balloting commenced. He was Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House of Commons until the dissolution of the House of Commons on 12 April 2010.^[1] When the Kensington and Chelsea constituency was realigned to create the new seats of Chelsea and Fulham and Kensington, Rifkind stood for the latter seat and was elected at the 2010 general election with a 50.1% share of total votes cast,^[2] with a majority of 8,616 votes.^[3]